Thursday, October 22, 2015

A week in La Paz by Mason Wood

On Monday mornings, after
arriving at the city’s highest point via my contrasting journey of the bustling
Puma bus and the tranquil Teleferico, I cross the musty streets of the city’s
highest point and meet my demi-group at one of the centres I volunteer at. We
are ushered into a crowded room full of baying three to five year olds with the
language barrier here lessened by the enthusiasm of these curious toddlers. The
ensuing three hours are spent making sure the children are occupied: we help
them with their work, an activity which is as rewarding for us as teachers as it
seems to be for the children, and we play with them at break times.

In the afternoons we
work in a classroom of older children. We help them with their homework, and, although
my lack of Spanish can be a hindrance, both the children and the teachers
really enjoy having us there. We also teach them the English language and
British games, as they teach us the Spanish language and Bolivian games, as a
form of cultural exchange.

On Tuesday mornings,
we bake bread in Los Lomas, the busier of the two centres. This gives a great
insight into the culture of working women in Bolivia. It is a warm, welcoming
environment and we thoroughly enjoy helping out. We are fed to excess, and as
food over here is a sign of affection, one can only take it as a compliment.

After cooking for
three hours we head back to the office (which is shared with two other
volunteer groups from ICS) to plan and organize sessions for the rest of the
week. We are really expected to take initiative when creating these sessions as
coming up with creative ways to entertain and teach the children is a new
challenge for many of us; and making sure we are fulfilling our duties to the
best of our ability is a constant test of our imagination and diligence. We
also have more planning time on Wednesday mornings.

Wednesdays afternoons
are completely different. My demi-group attends Alpacoma – the more peaceful,
quieter centre. Here we really help out a lot. From spending the afternoon
exhausting ourselves whilst growing vegetables in the simmering greenhouses to
leading lively sessions in the crowded classroom, there is always some way we
can improve the children’s lives.

On Thursday mornings
it’s back to baking bread in Los Lomas. This hot and, I’ll admit, sometimes
gruelling task is the most rewarding of all as we can instantly see the impact
of our work on the grateful faces of the hungry children.

After we have
completed our kitchen duties, we head to one of the classrooms for the only
session we have with teenagers. These young adults are the future of Bolivia,
and with great pride we educate them on many important issues such as: health,
nutrition, human rights and more.

Fridays are great. In
the morning we attend a workshop in the office which is called Guided Learning.
This consists of one group presenting in imaginative ways, ideas and
information on a given topic to the other groups. My group was the first to
present guided learning and I think we set the standards high. Our topic was
“the root cause of poverty and inequality” - a topic we were all really
interested in and wasting no time in splitting up into groups and researching
as much as possible.

In the afternoons
(after a 1 hour period of language exchange – which is really useful for
getting to know more people and, of course, learning Spanish) we have what we
call “Action Friday”. Here, the team leaders exchange us volunteers with other
groups so we can all experience the work the other teams are doing, and help
out on specific tasks which might require more man power.

I could go on about
the amazing weekends, (which are the most exciting part of the adventure) and
all the travelling we have done/intend to do, but my blog is getting a bit
lengthy…

To summarise, I urge
any young person to apply for an ICS scheme as it is the most exciting,
rewarding thing I have done in my life and I am learning so much.